


The Wedding Bell Tolls

by CiCiIvory



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Love Actually, Interconnecting Stories, M/M, Makeup, Multi, Multiple story lines, Past Relationship(s), Weddings, but it's not out of hand sans the bachelor party, i'm trying to tag as much as i can think of and cannot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-04 06:46:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13358751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiCiIvory/pseuds/CiCiIvory
Summary: Josephine 'Fien' Van Dijk and Sebastian 'Basch' Zwingli are preparing to get married. Of course, with their wedding approaching, it somehow influences the lives of many of their family and friends. Watch out, everyone - love is in the air.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Switzerland ~ Sebastian 'Basch' Zwingli  
> Belgium ~ Josephine 'Fien' Van Dijk  
> Luxembourg ~ Benjamin 'Bennie' Van Dijk  
> Netherlands ~ Johannes 'Jan' Van Dijk  
> Vietnam ~ Lien Nguyen  
> Iceland ~ Erikur Thomassen  
> Thailand ~ Kiettisuk 'Kiet' Sripuy  
> Liechtenstein ~ Elise Vogel  
> Moldova ~ Nichita Costin  
> Czech Republic ~ Tereza Lukáč  
> Slovakia ~ Matej Lukáč  
> Austria ~ Roderich Edelstein  
> Hungary ~ Erzsébet Edelstein  
> Prussia ~ Gilbert Beilschmidt  
> Australia ~ Christopher 'Chris' Walters  
> Monaco ~ Camille Leroux  
> Hong Kong ~ Leon Wang  
> Taiwan ~ Mei Xiao  
> Portugal ~ Domingos de Silva  
> Macau ~ Joaquim Wang  
> Belarus ~ Natalya Braginskaya  
> Seychelles ~ Nichelle Laurent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jan is a dick, falls in love, miscommunicates, and gets the girl, all in the months leading up to his sister's special day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as it turns out, I've been writing a lot when I wasn't working or in class. Nothing post-worthy quite yet, or ready to be posted, is more accurate. Until now, that is. I finally, after years of protesting and reluctance, decided to watch Love Actually for the first time ever, and I adored it. I got inspired, and decided to write a story with a similar idea to that.
> 
> This story centers around a ton of losers as people prepare for the Van Dijk-Zwingli wedding. I just really wanted an excuse to write some of my favorite pairings (aka rarepairs no one fucking writes for lol). As evident here, there is a lot of other things brewing for some of your favorite characters, and it is very exciting for me to write something a little more fun, not super chronological, but still all interconnected.
> 
>  **CHARACTERS MAKING AN APPEARANCE/MENTIONED HERE:** Mariya (Ukraine), Mr. Kirkland (England), Mikkel (Denmark), Francis (France), Andrei Costin (Romania)

**_The Wedding Bell Tolls_ **

****

**Jan Van Dijk**

His mother was going crazy with this wedding shit, and the last thing he wanted to hear was about how lonely Jan was and how sorry she felt for him. But of course, at family dinner, he heard it, and while Bennie (as shitty as the kid was, he had _some_ good points) tried to stand up for him, Fien indulged her mother.

 

“I bet I know someone that Jan would love! She can be his wedding date!”

 

Jan’s head whipped around, as Fien smirked – her catlike grin taunting him. Fien, due to the fact she was the only daughter and the only one getting married right now, was the favorite child, and she always won bonus points for being a massive kiss-ass.

 

“I don’t need a fucking wedding date, _Josephine_ ,” Jan responded. Fien fumed, because since she was little, she seemed to have some kind of resistance to using her full name. Jan knew this pissed her off when he called her that, and used it as a means to punish her.

 

“The hell you don’t!” their mother yelled. “Johannes, you’re almost twenty-nine years old. I was married with three kids by the time I was your age!” Jan wanted so _badly_ to point out by the time she was thirty, she was divorced with three kids, but out of respect for his mother, he kept that sarcastic comment to himself.

 

“Women know you as the hot stud who talks about sports on the news channel,” Fien piped up again. “You should have no problem finding a date.”

 

“I don’t want a bimbo,” Jan grumbled. “Why can’t you harass Bennie? He’s single _too_ , you know!”

 

“Benjamin is my baby, he’s too young for romance!”

 

Bennie and Jan exchanged looks in solidarity, rolling their eyes simultaneously. Jan maybe didn’t hate Bennie so much. Not anymore, especially when he seemed to respect Jan and his life decisions.

 

“I think I know just the girl! I’ll call her up later!” Fien spoke, ignoring the look of death from Jan as their mother clasped her hands together. “She’s right up Jan’s alley, too.”

 

“Moody and humanity hating?” Bennie piped up. Jan’s focus shifted to Bennie. He wanted to be mad for the deadpanned response, but he could only assume Bennie learned that from him, and it was a well-played, if not somewhat accurate, response.

 

“Well,” Jan finally cut in, rising from his seat. “This dinner has done nothing _but_ piss me off. Guess I’ll catch you all soon, in light of the wedding and all.” Slamming his chair against the table, Jan walked over, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to his mother’s cheek, before glaring at his siblings. He still had to show his mother some sort of affection and respect, but he could sure as shit be rude to his siblings.

 

“If any of you would like to criticize me more, I now will only take that shit in writing!” he shouted once he reached the front door. He was sure Bennie was about to say something smart, and before he could, Jan slammed the door.

 

They would not get the last word in. Over his dead, cold, body.

 

**x x x**

 

“Johannes, come in.”

 

When the head of the network wanted to meet with him, Jan wondered if his latest comments towards field reporter Andrei Costin were going to get him fired. Andrei was fine, normally, but Jan could not stand long periods of interactions with him. He was sure the HR Department was having a field day with him by now…

 

The head of the network folded his hands on the desk, narrowing his bushy eyebrows. “As you know, your sports segment is top notch, and we love the work you do.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Kirkland,” Jan responded.

 

“And while you do amazing things, we believe… that we need to also reach a more diverse, broader audience,” Mr. Kirkland continued. Jan raised an eyebrow, unsure on whether he was being fired or not “Now, I know that you can be resistant to change… the desk incident was proof enough… but, I think what your sports segment needs in order to give it a diverse, modern facelift is a co-anchor.”

 

Jan sputtered. This was almost worst than being fired. He, at least, got to keep his job. Jan opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was left looking like an idiot in front of his boss. His boss took this cue to continue talking.

 

“Her name is Lien Nguyen,” he told him. “She actually just transferred her from a small station out in California. She’s covered World Series to little leagues, Johannes. She’s good. Scary, crazy good.” Jan bit his lip, wanting to protest he did _not_ need a co-anchor. Mr. Kirkland smiled, reaching over and pressing a button on the intercom system on his desk.

 

“Nichelle, can you please send in Lien Nguyen?”

 

The door opened moments later and Jan turned around.

 

All he could say was he _immediately_ hated her. She was dressed in a nice, trendy top with a slimming, black, white, and tan pattern. She was wearing black slacks, which made her legs seem long, but maybe it was the nude, pointy-toed heels. Lien had brown eyes, a determined gaze, and long black hair, pulled up into a high ponytail.

 

“She looks like a political analysis.” Jan snorted as Lien turned to glare at him, walking over to the empty seat next to him. She sat down as Jan asked, “And so you expect me to work with her?”

 

Mr. Kirkland timidly nodded as Lien turned her body towards Jan. “Is there a problem, Mr. Van Dijk?” she asked.

 

“I don’t think I need a co-anchor. If you want to give her a slot on another program, by all means…”

 

“You’re much more arrogant than you look,” Lien interjected. Jan raised an eyebrow. “How do you expect me to do any work in this kind of environment?” Lien’s question was directed at Mr. Kirkland, as Jan coughed.

 

“What does that mean, Miss Nguyen?”

 

“It means you’re insecure about the fact that I can probably do this job better than you.”

 

“I haven’t seen your work,” Jan grumbled. “Who would know? Although, judging by your attitude…”

 

“See!” Mr. Kirkland was quick to jump in, cutting Jan off before he could have yet another HR complaint filed against him. “This is what I want! Chemistry! You two are going to be perfect together!” While Arthur praised what he hoped was the beginning of banter, Jan leaned back, crossing his arms as he glared at his boss. “Lien, Johannes, you two are going to be the biggest duo since… well, you know…”

 

Lien rose up, nodding her head as she said, “I look forward to working with the station, Mr. Kirkland.” Turning towards Jan, she scowled, clicking her tongue as she added, “However, the same cannot be said for my co-anchor…”

 

**x x x**

 

Jan was a damn good sports journalist and a damn good sports reporter. He was able to overcome any adversity, so naturally, a new partner was like his trail period with the radio station he started at, when they said he was ‘too young.’

 

“Uh, I know the area has some kind of investment in local teams and they seem to care about the Chicago teams, but really, are we just going to ignore the fact that the Titans are in the playoffs?”

 

Jan rubbed his face. Lien was from California, which meant she had more exposure to professional sports than he did. He noted that she had an Oakland Raiders flag in her cubicle, and a Golden State Warriors keychain. Jan saw her desk was adorned with pictures of her with various Warriors players and his eyes twitched.

 

“Why dedicate that much time when we can focus on the high schools competing for spots at state?” Jan asked. He wondered if Lien had ever _done_ a high school sporting event like wrestling. He assumed maybe, but this was different in Iowa. Small farm communities started their kids with wrestling in diapers. That was their bread and butter.

 

“I guess, but I do think the NFL fans need a bit of coverage too,” Lien protested. Jan looked at the clock. Luckily, they weren’t on until the 6 PM time slot today, which gave them plenty of time to perfect and practice.

 

Jan sighed as his phone buzzed, shaking his head. “We should also touch on the terrible basketball season for the Iowa Hawkeyes,” Lien said.

 

“You can’t _say_ it’s a bad season!”

 

Lien shot daggers at Jan. “What would you call it? A blip? A slip?”

 

“A rough patch,” Jan grumbled.

 

“Look, I’m sorry, but even with some key players, this is more than a silly little ‘rough patch,’ Johannes.” Lien began to spread the papers out in front of her. “Look, I’m sorry this is not how you little Iowans handle your sports, but where I’m from, it was better to be honest…”

 

“You shit on a team, you get fucking crucified! I don’t _care_ what little show you did for your stupid, nobody station, we are Eastern Iowa’s leading news service. People are not tuning in to hear us talk about how terrible a team is, but…”

 

Lien crossed her arms. “You can go, Johannes,” Lien said, cutting him off. “I’ll make changes to my notes. I’ll get my shit done, but I’d rather not have you sit here and criticize my experience.”

 

Waving him off, Lien picked up her papers. Jan fumed silently, but stood up, leaving her cubicle. He didn’t even know what to say after that, but all he knew was that he wanted nothing more to do with Lien Nguyen.

 

**x x x**

 

“And now, we’ll take you over to the Sports Corner, with Johannes Von Acker and new co-anchor, Lorraine Nguyen!”

 

Jan almost did a double take as he heard his new co-anchor’s name. Jan knew that Lien didn’t use her first name for broadcasts. But Lorraine? She could do _way_ better. “Thanks, Toni,” Jan replied, looking right into the camera. “As he said, the Sports Corner has a new face here, and we are _so_ excited to have Lorraine here. How do you like Iowa, _Lorraine_?”

 

“Thanks, _Johannes_ ,” she all but hissed back at him. “It’s different, but I’m adjusting well. All I can say is, at least it’s not Kansas City!” Jan resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she gaze the camera a dazzling smile.

 

“Well, at least the Chiefs are in the playoffs there, Lorraine,” Jan managed to say. “Our top story tonight, the Iowa Hawkeyes squared off with the Maryland Terrapins in College Park. It was, uh, quite the night for the Hawkeyes, wouldn’t you say?”

 

Lien nodded. “Yes, I would. Iowa is now winless in the big ten, with an zero and five record after today’s shenanigans in Maryland. The coach was _ejected_ late in the first half, and another play dismissed from the game following a technical foul. Now, looking at the tape, Johannes, I would say the officiating here definitely seemed to like to take momentum away from Iowa…”

 

“Uh, well…” Jan gulped.

 

“However, we are looking at a _very_ young Hawkeye team that has yet to learn synergy.”

 

“Now, I would say they have it…”

 

“I mean, watching them play is like watching a high school team!”

 

“I think we have a rough patch, and that soon, we can pull it together,” Jan argued, turning to face Lien. “Iowa actually played very well in this game, in spite of the fact that Coach M was tossed from the game before the second half.”

 

“I think we’re looking at a offense that doesn’t fit a team of young men, and a team with a lack of defense. I mean, come on, the team is _tall_ and they’re allowing how many points in the paint?”

 

Jan clenched his fists. “We cannot blame just one person for this, but if we were to keep talking about this, we would be here all day!” Jan turned back to the camera, forcing a smile as he added, “Coming up, Li- _Lorraine_ and I still get to talk basetball as we check out metro scores…”

 

“And I get my firsthand look at real, all-American, Midwestern wrestling!” Lien added. “I cannot wait!”

 

As the _ON AIR_ sign flashed off, Jan turned to Lien. “What the fuck? We are here to report facts! We didn’t even get to the coach’s postgame interview!” he yelled. Lien scoffed, shaking her head.

 

“Oh, give me a break! I’m not gonna sit here and blow smoke up the ass of the people! I’m here to challenge and ask questions!”

 

“You haven’t been through the McCaffery era here, Nguyen.” Lien stood up as Jan stepped closer. “You don’t _know_ Iowa Basketball.”

 

“You’ve put your team out on a national stage. You’re lucky I didn’t go into my ejection speech…”

 

“On in five!”

 

Jan huffed. Lien crossed her arms and smirked. He wanted to curse and scream, but he instead took his seat. Jan was quick to resume the broadcast, which lead to another heated argument about California versus Iowa wrestling.

 

At the end, he muttered, “Stay in your own fucking lane, Nguyen.” She was silent as he stormed away.

 

All in all, it was an awful day at work…

 

**x x x**

 

“Nguyen! Van Dijk!”

 

Jan jumped as he was gathering his things. Sticking his head out of his cubicle, Mr. Kirkland motioned for him to step out. Lien was quick to exit her cubicle, calling, “Yes, Mr. Kirkland?” she asked, watching Jan slowly approach them.

 

“Tonight’s newscast?”

 

Jan gulped. He was waiting for all the awful words that Mr. Kirkland could say. He was waiting for his job to be threatened. He was ready for the worst of the worse. He had already started looking up transitional jobs that required him to _not_ take off his clothes. He couldn’t be a stripper, he was sure of it…

 

“Was _absolutely_ amazing! So much fire and banter! Fans _love_ it!”

 

Jan blinked, his jaw hanging open. Lien raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, sir?” she asked, crossing her arms. “You’re telling me…”

 

“God, people just went absolutely bonkers! Everyone thinks you should have your own talk show and that was just based on one, short segment!” Mr. Kirkland was practically yelling this, his voice raising an octave as he waved his hands frantically. “I was on the edge of my seat! Two differing opinions, it was incredible! This was _exactly_ the boost we needed!”

 

“Mr. Kirkland, while I am happy at the success, I need to speak with you about…”

 

“I need you to cover both evening and late night segments!” Mr. Kirkland exclaimed. “Bring the same fire! It’s intense, it’s… _riveting_!”

 

“Mr. Kirkland, please,” Lien pleaded. “I really would much rather…”

 

“Jan and Lorraine, Iowa’s most heated sports broadcasters!”

 

As Mr. Kirkland saunter off, Lien tried to reach out to him, but he was quick to go to another part of the building as Lien groaned. Jan watched her return to the cubicle. As she stormed away, his stomach sank.

 

Following her into the cubicle, he muttered, “Guess I’m stuck with you?” he offered.

 

“Guess I better learn to stay in my own fucking lane,” she deadpanned. “Leave me be. I need to work on my emails to Mr. Kirkland. I’m not going to stay in an environment where I feel unwelcomed…”

 

Jan backed up, before changing his mind. “Lien, wait…” He immediately walked over to the empty chair next to her. “This station, we’ve been falling behind for a while. I need this job. If I do well, I can… move onto bigger things, you know?”

 

“Now you want to play nice?” Lien snapped.

 

“When you get a compliment like that from Mr. Kirkland, _yes_ ,” he stressed. “Mr. Arthur Kirkland is a bitter man who hates everything and everyone and that was the first time in a long while he’s been genuine.”

 

“And I’m just some convenient broad for you to further your career.” Lien opened her email application and began to furiously type. Jan placed his hand over one of hers, drawing her attention back to him.

 

“You came from a small, nobody station…”

 

“You keep saying that!”

 

“But, let me guess, you need this break just as much as I do!”

 

Lien rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet. Jan cleared his throat, adverting his gaze. “I may be asking you for my own selfish reasons, but you definitely have yours too. Don’t play the patron saint of anything, Lien. We can make this work.”

 

“You say one more out of line thing to me, and I will have you fired.” Lien turned back to face him, adding, “Your career will be over and you won’t be able to get a job at McDonald’s. That’s what I will do if you so choose to speak to me again like how you did earlier.”

 

Jan nodded, because that was fair. “Agreed.”

 

**x x x**

 

Two weeks later, the show was a bigger hit than it was before. Lien had began to tolerate being in the same room as him and they had developed a better working relationship. In light of all the praise, Jan was less abrasive to Lien’s opinions, and in many occasions had even found himself agreeing with her.

 

She was a persuasive woman, amongst being knowledgeable about most all sports. Jan had her beat in baseball and wrestling, and probably hockey, although Lien boasted season tickets to the San Jose Sharks, but he wasn’t quite convinced.

 

“Iowa State has picked up a few wins, including a good set of marquee ones.” Lien tapped her pen against her notebook.

 

“They’ll make the tournament,” Jan replied, with no hesitation. Lien rolled her eyes.

 

“The NIT, maybe,” she answered. “Considering there is still a large gap between them and the ninth place team in the Big 12, I don’t think with powerhouses like Kansas, Oklahoma, and even shocker Texas Tech they’ll stand a chance at a 20 win season, let alone winning a championship.”

 

Jan shrugged, “They’re everyone’s favorite Iowa team.”

 

His phone buzzed and he groaned. As of late, Fien had been more needy than normal. Bennie had admitted to turning his phone off to avoid calls and Jan used work as an excuse. “Your sister again?” Lien asked.

 

“She’s asking me or Bennie to pick up her shoes at Basch’s sister’s bridal shop,” Jan muttered. “God, this is pathetic. Can’t she do anything herself?” Jan watched as Lien rolled her eyes.

 

“No wonder you’re single.”

 

“I choose to be single, thank you,” Jan replied. “Can’t say you’re necessarily a _peach_ either, Miss Nguyen.”

 

Lien nudged him with her foot, “Okay, so, we should talk about the state tournaments heating up – and probably throw in some Waterloo Blackhawks talk, just because… people like them?”

 

“It’s the puck sluts – you know how it goes. You were probably one.”

 

Lien rolled her eyes, and Jan froze. “Can’t say that on air,” she replied. Jan must have looked like he was going to die of fright, because she felt the need to reiterate, “I think I know when you are joking and when you’re being malicious. You’ve lightened up.”

 

Jan turned a light pink. “Only because I don’t want to be jobless the rest of my life.”

 

“Well, that’s still a possibility.” Lien grinned, her brown eyes sparkling with delight as Jan lowered his gaze. “You’re probably already going to die alone, so you might as well add future hobo to your list, Johannes.”

 

“Jan.”

 

Lien blinked, tilting her head. “Jan?”

 

“Just call me Jan. I’ve always been called Jan since I was a baby. Johannes is way too stuffy, but Kirkland said it sounds good on TV.” Lien nodded, looking at him as if she was waiting for him to change his mind. Jan shrugged, looking down at the ground.

 

“Okay, _Jan_ ,” she said, trying out the name as someone whom she may not hate and is forced to work with. Lien nodded, giving a small smile. “So, anyway, about tonight’s show…”

 

**x x x**

 

By the time January ended and February began, Jan realized that Lien and him spent a lot of time together. Lien shared some personal information with him – how she used to be a beauty pageant contestant and a model, but following a diagnosis anorexia, she spent time at a treatment facility, and gave up her mother’s dream of her being the next Miss America and proceeded to chase her dream of sports journalism.

 

“I was married when I was sixteen.”

 

“What?”

 

Jan turned to her after they had finished working on their show outlines for the next week. “I was in Vegas with my then-boyfriend for a modeling thing. He was some hotshot football player, going to USC on a full ride, and I was modeling almost full time, and I wanted some independence. I forged my parents’ signatures, had my cousin pretend to be my dad on the phone, and we got married. It wasn’t valid or anything, and when we broke up, the divorce shit was simple, but I let my dad handle it…”

 

Lien looked at her watch. “Have you been to that brewery? I went with my cousin, and the food is good, if overpriced. And the beer is better than what they have in any normal pub.”

 

“Are you inviting me out for dinner and drinks?”

 

Jan watched as Lien nodded, standing up and grabbing her jacket. “I think we’ve been working together for a month, we haven’t killed each other, and we’re the highest rated news channel at the end of January. That’s cause for celebration!”

 

Jan rose, grabbing his coat as it was always so cold during Iowa nights, and followed Lien out to the parking lot.

 

**x x x**

 

“So, Fien is the middle child, and she’s getting married to Basch Zwingli – he’s running for sheriff soon,” Jan explained. “Bennie is our younger brother, and he’s just kind of there for the drama of it all. Bennie’s helping Fien find me a wedding date.”

 

Lien listened intently. “Everyone should just elope.”

 

“Vegas would be nice and there’s not as much fucking drama and fanfare and it’s easy,” Jan admitted. “My mom would have a fit, but I kind of want to see her face if I were to get married by a man dressed at Elvis.”

 

“My ex wanted that, I refused, but if I had to do it again, I would just say fuck it and let the Elvis man marry me.” Lien brought her glass to her lips and smirked, a twinkle in her eyes. “So, your sister is trying to play match maker?”

 

“She’s set me up with a few of her bridesmaids, but I’m not interested,” Jan explained. “I’ve met them for drinks or dinner. They either talk to much or not at all. She even tried to set me up with her future sister-in-law, but her ex-husband showed up and made a big scene. Sweet girl, not my type, and not worth that drama.”

 

“You mean you don’t like confrontation from the ex?” Lien teased. “I’ll have to call off mine.”

 

“He’s gonna fly all the way to Iowa to get his ass kicked?”

 

“Big talk coming from you, and he lives in Kansas City right now.” Lien laughed, shaking his head. “Alfred and I are actually on very good terms, so it’s not as much drama as the divorce was.”

 

“You were married at sixteen, you probably didn’t even read what you were agreeing to.”

 

“I still don’t read any contracts, otherwise I would’ve demanded my own show.” Jan smirked as he leaned back. “You know, for an arrogant dick, I can stand to be around you now.”

 

The waiter came over and Jan ordered another beer, while Lien declined, still working on her first. “And, are the checks together or separate?” the waiter asked, looking at them from over his glasses.

 

“Sep–”

 

“Together,” Lien quickly said. Jan glared at her as the man walked away. “And because I can stand to be around you, let this be my treat. Your cheese fries aren’t as much as my dinner was.”  


“Two beers.”

 

“You can get next time,” Lien offered. Jan raised his eyebrow, but slowly nodded. They talked while they both finished their drinks, and Jan couldn’t help but feel something that was close to a heart palpitation in his chest every time she would smile and laugh with him.

 

Jan wondered if a volatile start to a relationship could change to something so warm and friendly.

 

He also wondered if such a rough start could mean that he and Lien could be something more.

 

**x x x**

 

“I can’t date her, you know.”

 

Bennie looked over at Jan who looked at his hands. “Oh yeah, don’t date the coworker,” Bennie said, although he was rather apathetic toward his whole statement. “You think you like her?”

 

“Bennie, I’ve never wanted to kiss someone so bad in my life.”

 

“Have you kissed someone who isn’t Nanna?”

 

Jan shot Bennie the nastiest look he could, and Bennie shrugged, still maintaining his ‘don’t care’ persona about this whole topic. Jan and Bennie exchange a few looks, essentially Bennie telling Jan it doesn’t matter, Jan arguing with him that it does, and Bennie’s looking telling him that he has seen that woman and she is a former model and she is attractive and quick-witted and she is not going to be single forever, but Jan will be if he doesn’t step up his goddam game.

 

Jan is surprised he got all of that from one look, but as much as he likes to talk shit on his younger brother, Bennie is a Van Dijk, and he is just as expressive as Fien and himself combined. “I probably shouldn’t bang my co-worker.”

 

“You should probably bang, wife up, and then proceed to have the most sarcastic babies with your co-worker, then you can both work for ESPN and have a couple’s show and be hashtag goals.”

 

“Why do I go to you for advice again?” Jan grumbled.

 

Bennie rolled his eyes, before reminding him, “Because Mom is nosy and Fien will interject herself into this situation, but instead of maybe being of some help, she would actually hijack the conversation to get this girl’s opinion about wedding napkins.”

 

Jan shuddered, remembering the three-day argument that Fien and Basch had over wedding napkins. Lien found it funny, at least. Jan was thrown in the middle and after siding with Basch, Fien threatened to throw him out of the wedding party.

 

“Why don’t you ask her to the wedding?” Bennie pressed.

 

“That’s _really_ intense, don’t you think?” Jan raised an eyebrow, challenging Bennie’s suggestion. “If we went as friends, maybe, but… that’s not… I mean I always thought wedding dates were like, long term relationship things.”

 

“I brought my three month boyfriend to Elise’s wedding when she got married,” Bennie argued.

 

“You broke up two months later, Ben,” Jan reminded him.

 

“Not because of that, but because he was cheating on me with your best friend,” Bennie hissed. Jan gulped. “Are they still together?”

 

“No, Kiet and him broke up,” Jan explained. “He didn’t want kids, so I guess he dumped Kiet is more accurate.” Bennie shrugged, which probably meant it was not a big deal to him. Jan was glad that asshole was out of his life for good – the whole “brother vs. friend” thing was ridiculous.

 

“So, it’s settled, you’re asking Lorraine Nguyen to be your wedding date.” Bennie stood up, grabbing Jan’s empty coffee cup as he quickly maneuvered into the kitchen to get them refills. Jan opened his mouth the protest, but shut it quickly.

 

Well, it wasn’t a _bad_ idea, he assumed.

 

**x x x**

 

“Fien gave up on the wedding date thing.”

 

Jan dropped this casually during lunch with Lien. He had decided now to do this over pho, because Lien had yet to be impressed with any pho places in Iowa. She seemed to like this one well enough. And it was a close walk to the station, so maybe he could ask her to hold her hand after…

 

Lien raised an eyebrow. “Did you just agree to one or…?”

 

“I kind of… found someone on my own,” Jan muttered. Lien raised an eyebrow. “I think she’s pretty cool. I was planning on asking her today.” Lien’s expression was unreadable. Setting her utensil down, Lien folded her hands in her lap.

 

“Really? Would I happen to know her?”

 

“Well, yes?” Jan gulped, lowering his eyes towards the table. The last few days he had been discussing the idea with Mariya, a woman who worked at the station’s front desk. Mariya helped him work through what he wanted to say.

 

“Well, Mariya is a _fine_ woman.” Lien checked her watch, refusing to meet his gaze. Jan’s eyes widened as he tried to get out a sound. “She’s quiet pretty, and her body is nice. She’s a sweet woman, as well. A fine choice _indeed_.”

 

“Lien, what the hell…”

 

“You know, I remember, I have a meeting with Francis because he wanted to do something different with makeup, so I need to go now, so I’ll see you on set.” Lien grabbed her purse. “This was a good place, thanks.”

 

Lien was quick to leave, leaving Jan in shock. When he returned to the studio, Lien wasn’t in her cubicle. Mariya told him she had been in Francis’ office since her return.

 

“How did it go?” Mariya asked, although her tone made it seem she knew already.

 

“She thought I was taking _you_ ,” Jan forced a laugh out in reply.

 

“Eduard would be so pleased to hear.”

 

Jan, by the evening taping, proceeded with the show as normally as he could. Lien, appeared to be as cool as a cucumber, but Jan could tell by the lack of inside jokes used and playful looks she usually gave him, she was still in a sour mood.

 

By the end of their last taping for the night, Jan returned to his cubicle confused, trying to figure out how to fix this misunderstanding. Lien did not say anything to him, so he assumed he wanted to be left alone until tomorrow, which didn’t sit well with him. Jan frowned, knowing that Thursday and Friday, he was off for wedding bullshit, and if he didn’t fix it by tomorrow…

 

A quiet rapping sound woke him from his inner monologue about how dramatic everything was. He swiveled his chair and saw Lien at the door. “Can I come in?” she asked, quietly.

 

“Oh, uh, if you want, yeah,” Jan offered. Lien entered, closing the sliding glass door slightly behind her. “What’s up? You left lunch in a hurry.”

 

“I, uh…” Lien bit her lip. “I just…”

 

“You know, if you want to say something, you can just say it,” Jan commented.

 

“I’m trying, you asshole!” she whispered-yelled.

 

“We’ve _always_ been honest,” Jan reminded her. Lien stepped closer and Jan crossed his arms. “You never leave without letting me know what you think and feel, and then you stormed off like I offended you at lunch and…”

 

“Are you truly that dense?” Lien leaned down, putting on hand on the arm of her chair. “Are you really that fucking oblivious?” Jan didn’t even get a chance to respond, because Lien didn’t give him a chance.

 

She pressed her lips against his, and Jan tried to hide the surprised noise caught in the back of his throat. Lien pulled away quickly as Jan stood up, stunned into silence as Lien brushed her lips with the tips of her fingers. “Fuck,” she cursed. “Fuck, I shouldn’t…” She turned around quickly and left the cubicle.

 

“Wait, Lien, I…”

 

Jan, after a few moments of realization, tried to chase after her, but she was not in her own cubicle. Jan gathered his things quickly, leaving the station, sending a few texts to Lien before he drove back to his apartment.

 

**x x x**

 

“Johannes, may I speak with you?”

 

Mr. Kirkland motioned for him to follow him and Jan gulped. When he finally arrived at work, Mr. Kirkland had been lurking by the front desk, seemingly awaiting his arrival. When Jan closed the door behind him, Mr. Kirkland said, “We’ve called in subs for today. I know your sister is getting married, so why don’t you go be with your family?”

 

“Well, thanks, but my time off isn’t scheduled until…” Jan blinked. “Subs? What about Lien?”

 

“Lien, as of this morning, has informed me she no longer wants to work for the station. I have given her a week’s time to make sure she is not just homesick, and if she wants to put in her two weeks next Wednesday, she can.”

 

Jan’s stomach flipped flopped and his heart sank. “She’s quitting?”

 

“It seems like she wants to, yes. Do _you_ know anything about this?”

 

Jan lowered his gaze, but shook his head. “Did she say why?” Jan asked.

 

“She said it was a lot of conflicting feelings and interest, I assumed she missed California.” Mr. Kirkland shrugged his shoulders. “I figured this news would shock you, so I think you really should take today off, and enjoy your sister’s wedding, and come back in Monday, and we can discuss…”

 

Jan blocked the man out, absentmindedly nodding as he pondered all the information thrown at him. Jan didn’t say anything to Mr. Kirkland after he rose up, and left the building.

 

He sent Lien a few more texts, met by radio silence, and even called her, only to be sent straight to voice mail. He drove to Bennie’s place, ranted and raved about how awful everything was, and Bennie just got quiet.

 

“Man, I wish I could help…”

 

Bennie was being sincere, and Jan felt like for the first time, this was an unsolvable problem. He decided to help Roderich and Gilbert prep for the bachelor party, to get his mind off of everything, and by the time they finished everything, Jan had a couple texts from Lien.

 

**[LIEN]** I’m not ready to talk about this  
**[LIEN]** I’m not ready to talk about my feelings  
**[LIEN]** but I fucked up I need time to think

 

“Yeah, me too,” Jan muttered, typing a quick reply before he decided to get shitfaced to avoid thinking about his problems.

 

The night was fun – Bennie’s friend made out with the officiant, there was strippers, there was booze, and Basch made some grossly adorable speech about his love of Fien – and how he was ready to spend his life with her.

 

**x x x**

_Call from… **LIEN.**_

Jan awoke, hung over, to the sounds of his phone ringing. He rubbed his eyes, grabbing his phone as his hands shook – partially from his body still waking up and partly because of nerves.

 

“Hello?” he groaned, rubbing his head.

 

“ _Jan?_ ”

 

He exhaled – okay, she hadn’t reverted to Johannes – that was a good sign to him. “Lien – _ow_ – hi.”

 

“ _I, uh… Mariya said last night was a bachelor party…_ ” Lien sounded unsure and was trying to avoid a subject that was hard to avoid.

 

“What’s up?” Jan muttered, probably still slurring and probably sounding very stupid drunk. Thank God today was recovery day for the boys…

 

“ _About… Tuesday, I shouldn’t have… I just… I was jealous._ ” Lien sounded like a child who was being forced to admit they were actually wrong, which he was certain was a huge jab at her pride. “ _And, I, uh… I’m sorry…_ ”

 

“Lien, you didn’t even let me explain… at lunch or at the station,” he forced out. On one hand, it hurt, but he was proud he was making so much sense. “Did Mariya also tell you I was gonna ask you to the wedding?”

 

“ _That’s, uh… why I called?_ ” Lien sounded unsure, but he could see her embarrassed little grin. He snorted, then moaned in pain, because that hurt.

 

“I like you, you know.”

 

“ _Now I do._ ”

 

“You like me, I know.”

 

“ _Well, I guess you do now…_ ”

 

“Why don’t we just actually go the fuck out?” Jan finally said, rubbing his temples. “Not… right now… because I might actually die in the sunlight, but…”

 

“ _What about work_?”

 

Jan huffed. “Well, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t…” he trailed off as Lien sighed loudly. “C’mon, this is infuriating. You make a big deal about kissing me and me maybe asking a girl who wasn’t you to be my date to a wedding, and you’re going to bust this out?”

 

“ _It’s just, not professional!_ ”

 

“Couples work together all the time.”

 

“ _We aren’t Pam and Jim, Jan,_ ” Lien replied. “ _I don’t know… I just… I still… need time._ ”

 

Jan yawned, rolling over onto his side as he grumbled, “Take all the time you want, Lien. I’m going back to sleep.”

 

Lien began to say something, but Jan quickly hung up, turning his phone on silent, and rolling over away from the nightstand, dozing back off.

 

**x x x**

 

February 17th, 2018. The day that Jan Van Dijk would gain a brother-in-law, watch his little sister get married, probably got really drunk at the reception, and hear the endless jabs, asking when he was getting married. His mother had already brought it up multiple times at the rehearsal dinner, and he was quick to shut it down.

 

Bennie, dressed in a nice, purple shirt, approached Jan before the start of the wedding, asking, “So, did you speak to Lien?”

 

“A bit. She called me, we’ve… kinda texted.”

 

“Interesting… what’s the sitch?”

 

“She needs time to decide if she wants to be professional or personal, I guess.” Jan shrugged his shoulders as Bennie offered him a flask. “What brought this up?” Jan asked, glaring at Bennie as if he had ulterior motives.

 

“Oh, Kiet said you seemed a bit distant Friday after the dinner, so I wanted to check in…”

 

“Since when did you speak to, and I quote, ‘that boyfriend stealing bitch,’ Benjamin Louis?” Jan watched as Bennie just smiled in return.

 

“Time for the wedding procession!” Bennie announced, clapping his hands together as Jan took his spot next to Elise, Basch’s stepsister. Jan glared at Bennie, who opened the doors to the makeshift chapel as Bennie escorted their mother down the aisle. Jan and Elise quickly followed as soon as his mother had taken a seat.

 

Jan looked around at the guest, before glancing over to where his friends were suppose to be, watching as Chris and Mikkel whispered to each other. Kiet smirked, leaning back and turning to the woman seated next to him.

 

Jan’s heart rate increased, noting the woman seated next to him with dark, straight hair and a taunting smile. The woman looked at him and he knew. Lien was seated next to Kiet, although she didn’t look as surprised as he would have assumed. He assumed his spot at the altar, trying so hard not to creepily stare during the rest of the procession, and then returned his attention to Domingos, the officiant, waiting patiently for the ceremony to end so that he could get to the reception, and maybe catch Lien…

 

Once they were legally pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Zwingli, the wedding recession began, and everyone cheered, blowing bubbles as the happy couple made their way towards their “love mobile,” as the maid-of-honor dubbed it.

 

Jan, Elise, and Bennie rode with his mother, and Jan kept tabs on the group Snapchat, noting that, yes, Lien was _still_ with them. He entered the reception hall and made his way to the table his friends were seated at, noting that only Camille, Chris, and a few people he didn’t know were standing around, talking to each other.

 

“Jan! You looked so good up there! Doing nothing!” Chris exclaimed, smiling as Jan sighed. “What’s up?”

 

“Where’s Kiet? I need… uh…” Chris smirked and leaned over, whispering to Camille as he nodded towards the bar. Jan made his way toward the bar, locating Kiet as he tapped him on the shoulder. Kiet turned around, and grinned.

 

“Janny!”

 

Lien whirled around, her expression neutral as Kiet embraced him. “You glad it’s over?” Kiet asked. Jan nodded, and Kiet continued to babble on, making sure that he did a quick introduction to Lien, even though they worked together, before rambling on about how amazing the wedding was. Jan could hear the envy in Jan’s voice, but let his friend ramble on.

 

“Kiet…” Lien was finally brave enough to interject, although she looked a bit unsure. Kiet turned, sipping his drink as she motioned toward the dessert table. “That guy… your friend… the kid with him…”

 

Kiet paled. “Oh, yeah…”

 

“He’s looking at you. Do you know him?” Lien pressed, placing a gentle hand on Kiet’s shoulder. Kiet nodded, and Jan looked over. He remembered the group chat said something about Lukas’ little brother earlier in the week. “You should talk to _him_.”

 

Lien’s emphasis was not so much out of concern for why he was staring or Kiet’s sudden silence, but it was more of a hint to leave her and Jan alone so they could have a bit of one-on-one time. Kiet mumbled something and Lien pinched him, which caused Kiet to make his way toward where the wedding cake would be displayed.

 

“He’s, uh, chatty,” Jan tried to think of a phrase that wouldn’t cause her to become upset. “I didn’t know you knew Kiet.”

 

“He’s my cousin, the one I tell you about,” Lien explained. “I thought you knew, but Kiet’s kind of dense, and didn’t realize I worked with you…”

 

“Kiet doesn’t watch the sports segment, usually. He’s too biased to the Hawkeyes to hear anything negative…” Jan chuckled, nervously. “Did you know?”

 

“At first, no,” Lien answered, knowing exactly what he meant. “Kiet said there was a wedding he was invited to, and he had a plus-one on his RSVP. His plus-one ditched, so I offered to go. He said that he was good friends with the bride’s brother, and I got suspicious and asked, and of course…”

 

Lien didn’t finish and took a sip of her drink. Jan shifted uncomfortably. “You look gorgeous,” he blurted out. Lien blinked, caught off-guard by the declaration. “And, whatever you decide, I’m okay with. I know…”

 

“I didn’t offer to go.” Lien turned a light shade of pink. “Kiet was going to cancel his plus one, your brother told him not. He said he should ask me, and that… it would make sense as to why when I got here.”

 

Jan wasn’t even surprised – Bennie was nosy and probably had done some kind of investigating. “Did you know?”

 

“Well, Kiet asked me to replace his plus-one and I said sure, then he explained how he knew the bride and I figured…” Lien shrugged. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t handle this kind of… thing well. Just ask my ex-husband. Or whatever. We probably weren’t legally married at all, in reality.”

 

“No, probably not…” Jan muttered. Lien snorted.

 

“But, I think… as odd as this would be, maybe we can go on a date. Like, a labeled date. Not like what we usually do where we just casually meet up or whatever…” Lien waved her free hand. “I think… I want to take it slow.”

 

“Oh, oh yeah,” Jan concurred, nodding enthusiastically. “So, uh, I don’t want to take you away from your date tonight, but… maybe you could spare a dance for me?” Lien rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm as she motioned behind him with the hand that held her drink. Jan looked over his shoulder, toward the dessert table, where Mikkel was clapping his hands and cheering, with Kiet kissing a very tall male.

 

“I don’t think Kiki is going to mind too much,” Lien offered.


	2. Tereza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tereza struggles with her ex-husband, because he's infuriating. But of course, things aren't always so clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switzerland ~ Sebastian 'Basch' Zwingli  
> Belgium ~ Josephine 'Fien' Van Dijk  
> Luxembourg ~ Benjamin 'Bennie' Van Dijk  
> Netherlands ~ Johannes 'Jan' Van Dijk  
> Vietnam ~ Lien Nguyen  
> Iceland ~ Erikur Thomassen  
> Thailand ~ Kiettisuk 'Kiet' Sripuy  
> Liechtenstein ~ Elise Vogel  
> Moldova ~ Nichita Costin  
> Czech Republic ~ Tereza Lukáč  
> Slovakia ~ Matej Lukáč  
> Austria ~ Roderich Edelstein  
> Hungary ~ Erzsébet Edelstein  
> Prussia ~ Gilbert Beilschmidt  
> Australia ~ Christopher 'Chris' Walters  
> Monaco ~ Camille Leroux  
> Hong Kong ~ Leon Wang  
> Taiwan ~ Mei Xiao  
> Portugal ~ Domingos de Silva  
> Macau ~ Joaquim Wang  
> Belarus ~ Natalya Braginskaya  
> Seychelles ~ Nichelle Laurent
> 
> CAMEOS IN THIS CHAPTER: Viktor Ivanov (Bulgaria), Andrei Costin (Romania)

**_The Wedding Bell Tolls_ **

**Tereza Lukáč**

“Reza, can I ask you something kind of personal?”

 

Tereza frowned as Fien twirled in her dress, smiling as she admired the reflection. “Yeah, of course, Fifi,” Tereza responded, brushing her caramel blonde hair from her face as Fien fidgeted with the cap sleeves of her dress.

 

“Have you spoken to Matej recently?”

 

“Not recently. Why?”

 

“It’s about the wedding and Matej.”

 

Tereza was afraid of this. Ever since the divorce five years ago, everyone treaded on pins and needles around her when bringing up Matej. Erzsébet pulled the same shit in the months following their finalization because she had invited both Matej and Tereza to her wedding.

 

Tereza didn’t go end up going to that wedding, twenty percent because she didn’t get along well with Erzsi at the time (or, you know, ever) and eighty percent because she didn’t want to face her ex-husband. It was still so fresh at the time, and honestly, why would you be miserable at a wedding when you can be miserable at home?

 

Plus, her pajamas were way better than the ugly magenta bridesmaids dress she had to wear for Fien’s wedding.

 

“You can invite whoever you want, it’s your wedding,” she replied, monotone. She really wasn’t in the mood to start any drama. Fien shook her head, waving her hands as Tereza added, “the wedding is gonna be big, anyway, so I won’t see him much if you do invite him and he does end up going.”

 

“Well, no, he’s not really _invited_ , per se…”

 

“Then why bring him up?

 

Fien flushed, looking anywhere but at Tereza, who glared at her reflection in the mirror. “Basch said I had to tell you,” Fien cracked. “Matej offered to do our wedding photos pretty cheap, and well, we agreed. He’s going to be photographing our wedding party and the big day, and I think he said he’d even film some of it. He has an intern now who…”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Fien flinched, looking up into the mirror, finally meeting her eyes with the death glare she was on the receiving end of. “He was cheap, and the money we save using him went to…”

 

“You weren’t going to tell me?” Tereza shouted.

 

“I didn’t want to because you get defensive!” Fien responded. “Bennie said you’d act like this, and we agreed telling you would be stupid. Basch said it was better to give you a heads up then wait until we did the wedding party pictures and he’s the one taking them…”

 

Tereza appreciated Basch for the pure fact he _knew_ she had to have a heads up, but the little respect he had earned from that was quickly overshadowed by the fact Basch _agreed_ to let this man take photos of the wedding at all. Damn, that cheap bastard. Any common sense he would’ve had was overshadowed by his desire to save a quick buck.

 

“So, I’m actually going to have to interact with him?”

 

“Well, uh…” Fien bit her bottom lip, trying to find a way to appease her bridesmaid but keeping her photographer. “ _Probably._ I mean, he’s taking the wedding pictures, Tereza. You’re a bridesmaid. You’re going to have to interact with him.” Tereza resist the urge to scream, because while they had been divorced for five years now, Matej still was a pest in her life. They had the same group of friends still, even if Tereza would rather him not be around for outings.

 

She thought this would be the one time she got away with being at a group event without Matej. Basch didn’t quite care for him, and Fien only knew him as Tereza’s ex-husband. Sure, he was friendly with a few wedding party members, but Fien and Basch weren’t close enough with him to warrant an invite.

 

Tereza subconsciously gritted her teeth. Fien raised an eyebrow, asking, “Is this going to be an issue?”

 

Fien and Basch were her friends, so she shook her head. “No,” she answered. “Of course not.” Tereza was hoping if she died, she would be named a saint for all the shit she had to put up with.

 

“Are you sure? I know you two tend to… uh… _banter_ …”

 

“I’m sure Matej will be very… _professional_ …” It hurt her to physically say that to someone. Matej was kind of lazy and unorganized, in her opinion, but she assumed he had to have fixed that in order to constantly be getting hired. Fien turned her head toward Tereza and Tereza gave the bride a smile.

 

“Thanks, Reza!”

 

“Anytime, Fien,” Tereza managed to get out as the bride-to-be’s attention toward the mirror. “Your dress is gorgeous…”

 

Fien went back to nitpicking small details and Tereza tried to focus on something other than the impending interaction with her ex.

 

**x x x**

 

“Vik? Who’s here?”

 

“Reza!”

 

Viktor was quick to meet her at the front door, giving her a nervous, lopsided grin as he grabbed the doorknob and opened it again, placing a hand on her back. Tereza slammed the door shut again, whirling around to glare at her roommate. “I, uh…” Viktor gulped, lowering his green eyes to stare at the floor.

 

“Matej is here, isn’t he?”

 

“ _What_? No!” Viktor forced a laugh as he shook his head, waving his hands in a shaky dismissal as Tereza rolled her eyes.

 

“You’re shaking, which you do when there is confrontation. You tried to push me out of the apartment – which is in my goddam name by the way – and you are laughing, which you do when you lie. Matej is _definitely_ here!”

 

She didn’t even bother to remove her heels as she dodged past Viktor and into the kitchen, where Matej sat at the small table, looking sheepish as he gave her a small wave. “Tereza, you look good…” he said.

 

“I thought we agreed you want to hang out with Vik, you don’t come _here_.” Tereza crossed her arms across her chest. “To _my_ apartment.”

 

“And I thought we agreed you wouldn’t move in with Vik when we got divorced,” Matej shot back, narrowing his eyes as he glared at her. “But, here we are.”

 

“I can’t believe you’re still not over that! You _know_ rent was cheaper and Vik was _homeless_ , you selfish prick!” Tereza shouted. “Why is this still an issue?”

 

“How about the fact you slept with one of my best friends before we even finalized the divorce? Like he would be a better lay than me!” Matej yelled back. “No offense, Vik.”

 

Viktor rolled his eyes, muttering, “None taken.”

 

Matej returned his attention to Tereza. “And now you’re practically dating him!”

 

“Oh you know as well as I do we aren’t dating! Like I am gonna ever date Vik! No offense, love,” she said as she turned to Viktor.

 

“None taken…?” Viktor sighed quietly as the couple went back to glaring at each other. “I’m just so glad we’re all here in the damn kitchen yelling at each other and not solving our problems, and making backhanded comments about me. This is why I hate being around you two…”

 

Viktor’s complains fell on deaf ears as Tereza placed her hands on the table. “I hear you’re filming the wedding.”

 

“And taking wedding pictures,” Matej added.

 

“You know I’m only going to be civil because it’s Fien’s special day, and I do not want to bring outside drama to the wedding,” Tereza explained. “Otherwise, if I could, I would have nothing to do with you.”

 

“Babe, you can’t go ten seconds without yelling at me…” Matej rolled his eyes and flipped his hair, smirking at Tereza as she fumed. “I’m a professional. And my work is nothing less…”

 

“I lived with you. The only thing professional about you is that you are professionally _lazy_!”

 

Viktor glanced nervously between the two feuding ex-lovers as he muttered, “So… dinner… who wants?”

 

“You know, you never have anything good to say about me! That’s why we broke up!”

 

“Chinese?” Viktor asked.

 

“You are missing the whole point of why we couldn’t make it work, Matej!”

 

“Well, _Mila_ says…”

 

“ _Mila_? Who the fuck is _Mila_?”

 

“Should I tell her Vik?” Matej asked, smirking at Viktor. Viktor shook his head.

 

Tereza turned to Viktor, ignoring Matej’s little ramble as Viktor gulped. “Mila is his… girlfriend? That we promised to never mention in front of you? Because you’re going to…”

 

Viktor didn’t even get to finish his explanation before Tereza turned back to Matej. “You’re dating someone?” she asked. “And why is she coming up now?”

 

“Why do you care if Mila and I are dating?” Matej asked.

 

“I don’t fucking care,” Tereza jumped in. “But the way you just named dropped her is suspicious.”

 

“You were going to find out eventually, anyway,” Matej muttered. “Anyway, Tereza, Vik, it’s been fun, but I don’t want to be subject to scrutiny anymore.”

 

“Why are you even here?”

 

“Oh, to invite you to my gallery viewing in two weeks!” Matej grinned as he pulled out an envelope. “I think you two should come to it!” Tereza glanced at Viktor, who looked over at her in shock. “Yes, Reza, I think you should come!”

 

“Tereza,” she corrected. “Why?”

 

“I think you’ll enjoy some of the pieces.” Matej slid the envelope over to Viktor, winking at the two of them as he stood up. “Anyway, I’m leaving now. Vik, we still getting drinks on Saturday?”

 

“ _Yes_ ,” Viktor sighed, rather exasperated by the interactions he was forced to weather just recently.

 

Matej gave him two thumbs up. “Reza, I’ll see you in… two weeks for the viewing? Maybe three at the wedding?”

 

“ _Tereza_!” she shouted as he was quick to leave the apartment. Tereza waited until she heard the front door close, turning toward Viktor who just glared at her. “Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s fine,” Viktor grumbled. “I _love_ being in the middle of your fights. Because after five years, you two still think it’s enjoyable to recreate that one time Matej found me in bed with you.”

 

“Someone feels nostalgic,” Tereza deadpanned, rising to her feet as she walked over to the fridge. “Have you met _Mila_?” Her voice was dripping with venom and Viktor shifted uncomfortably.

 

“Yes,” Viktor replied. “She’s a bitch. Plain and simple.” Tereza smirked. “She’s hot though. I’d consider being straight for her.”

 

“Even if news field reporter _Andy Conklin_ tried to propose to you?” Tereza turned around and winked, causing Viktor to turn bright red. “Well, not like Mila is important to me…”

 

“Except she is, because you’re doing the jealous twitch,” Viktor muttered. “I don’t support Matej bringing her up in that manner, because he only did that to get a rise outta you. Honestly, you both may be twenty-eight, but watching you two is like reliving high school and college.”

 

“Do you think we could’ve made it work?” Tereza asked.

 

Viktor got really quiet, before muttering, “Well, you both kind of decided you didn’t want to. You both shut each other out and argued and never wanted to fix anything. Honestly, had you not been caught in bed with me, Matej probably wouldn’t have signed the divorce papers.”

 

“You think so?”

 

Viktor grabbed his cellphone, walking over to the fridge. “Reza, I know so.”

 

**x x x**

 

“Matej Lukáč is taking pictures at the wedding, I hear,” Bennie teased, leaning across the desk as Tereza rolled her eyes. “Coincidentally, Tereza Lukáč is a bridesmaid. Tereza also never changed her last name back…”

 

“Can you not talk about me like I’m not here?” Tereza asked. “I’m the only one here and you’re being a dick, Benjamin Van Dijk.”

 

“I am just processing this information.” Bennie smirked. “Is there a chance that both Matej and Tereza Lukáč will rekindle a romance?”

 

“He’s dating someone named _Mila_ ,” she hissed. “She’s very _pretty_.” Bennie watched as Tereza furiously began to type on her keyboard. “Are you done being an idiot? And if so, can you either do your job or get me coffee?”

 

“You know, you sound jealous.”

 

“You’re lucky I haven’t fired you,” Tereza threatened, but she knew he would call her bluff. She loved Bennie too much and Fien was a good friend, so she probably wouldn’t dream of firing him. He grinned, before she added, “We’ve been divorced for five years.”

 

“There’s been signs of the fact you both want reconciliation,” Bennie encouraged. “I’ve seen how he looks at you and talks about you. I see you enough, I _know_ …”

 

“I’m ready to fire you on the spot,” Tereza interjected, glaring daggers at Bennie as he smirked. “I’m over it. I’m over _him_. He is just fucking ridiculous and…” Bennie raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to continue. “We’re done. We’re over.”

 

“If you say so, but you wouldn’t be this worked up over Mila if you weren’t jealous…”

 

“I’m just _annoyed_ is all,” Tereza clarified, although she refused to make eye contact. “He came over to flaunt a new relationship and then invites me to his gallery showing, like I’m suppose to be okay with that?”

 

“He invited you to the gallery thing?” Bennie’s tone caught Tereza off-guard, because it was far from his teasing one he had earlier when discussing Matej. He seemed a bit frazzled. “Are you going? You’re going, aren’t you?”

 

“Probably not, Vik says I should go,” Tereza muttered. Bennie shook his head. “Why do you care? Not like he never showed me his art when we were together…”

 

“I mean, that was five years ago when he really was kind of a nobody in the art world…” Bennie explained. “Now he’s evolved and people recognize how good he is…”

 

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to really see him _or_ Mila.” Tereza opened the folder on her desk as she tried her hardest to ignore Bennie’s stare. “How’s your mom doing?”

 

“Losing her mind before the wedding,” Bennie muttered.

 

“And your brother? Is he glad to pass off Fien onto Basch?”

 

“Your utter avoidance and how you go about it is honestly fucking cringe worthy,” Bennie grumbled, staring at Tereza with intent. “Jan is currently in his own dramatic world with trying to get with his co-anchor. Now, let’s talk about you and Matej.”

 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Tereza muttered. “I think you are delusional as always.” Bennie smirked as she grabbed her pen and began to scribble a few things down on a notepad as she added, “You should probably get back to work.”

 

“Whatever you say, Boss!”

 

**x x x**

Tereza knew that she should probably go grocery shopping, but she was too hungry to care, and everyone _knows_ you don’t grocery shop on an empty stomach.

 

Currently, she was standing in line at the fast food restaurant, waiting quietly for her order number to be called. There were about five families and two single individuals in front of her, and she knew she was picking up both her and Viktor’s orders, so it would take a while.

 

After work today, she really just wanted to curl up in bed and binge watch something sad on Netflix. Everybody for the last week decided to ask her about Matej, as the wedding party had heard who was the photographer for the day. Even Elise had asked if she wanted her to talk Basch into changing the photographer.

 

Tereza would be _damned_ if she allowed herself to let prim and proper, annoying and snobby Elise Vogel give her any kind of favor. Not on her watch.

 

“Reza!”

 

“ _Tereza_ ,” she immediately snapped, not even bothering to figure out exactly who she was correcting. She didn’t let just anyone call her Reza. Turning around, she frowned as she realized Matej was standing behind her, grinning like an idiot. “Oh, hello, _Matej_.”

 

“Hey, sorry for dropping by so unexpectedly the other day,” Matej said, paying no mind to her annoyed tone or the death glances she was giving him. “Glad to see you though. Have you given any thought to coming to my gallery showing?”

 

“I haven’t. Been so busy with my job,” she gritted, clenching her ticket in her hand as she watched Matej’s expression warped into something that resembled disappointment. “And with the wedding.”

 

“Oh yeah! You know, if you don’t want me there, tell me.”

 

Tereza took a moment to register exactly what he had said to her. “Excuse me?”

 

“Reza, I know you’re pissed about how awful it was between us and how we ended…” Matej looked everywhere but at her, and she didn’t even have the heart to correct him over her name. “And I know with this wedding, it may bring up… _memories_. I know that I haven’t done wedding photography because of that…”

 

“So you agreed to do Fien and Basch’s wedding _why_?”

 

Matej said nothing. Tereza gave him a bit of a pause to clarify, but when it became evident he wasn’t going to explain himself, she moved on.

 

“I don’t care, it’s not _my_ wedding, anyway.” Tereza turned around, watching a small child running around and playing with the toy from the kid’s meal. “Matej, why do you want me to go to your gallery show thing?”

 

“So I look really cool and popular?” Matej muttered, forcing himself to laugh after the fact.

 

Tereza noted how he seemed a bit dodgy about the whole topic. “And you want to invite your ex because why? You have enough friends for that reason.”

 

“Because, it’d be rude to invite Viktor in front of you and not extend the invitation?” Matej offered a lopsided smile in the half-assed attempt to make his excuses seem convincing. Matej was always a terrible liar, but even more so when it came to lying to Tereza.

 

Tereza crossed her arms and tapped her foot and Matej sighed. “Look, a few of the pieces are from when we were together. I finally finished them. I just thought that maybe you’d like to see them? You didn’t get to see a lot of the shit I didn’t finish then.”

 

Tereza frowned. “Really?”

 

“Yeah, you know, I put a lot of time into those pieces, and I think that since you were there to deal with the craziness at first, maybe… you’d like to see the end result?” Matej turned pink, huffing as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I mean, a few did genuinely take five years to finish, and a couple were on hiatus while I dealt with the divorce…”

 

Tereza’s heart began to pound in her chest. “I don’t know… I don’t want to overstep boundaries…”

 

“Terezie…”

 

“Matej, don’t start with that.”

 

“Please Rezie?”

 

Tereza gulped, immediately red at the old nicknames he had called her for many, many years. She couldn’t bring herself to correct him. Matej looked like a kicked puppy and as much as she hated to admit it, she felt so bad for how rude she was to him earlier about his intentions. Matej, when they were together, never let her see his work in progress.

 

She remembered, the first year they were married living in the dingy little one bedroom apartment that was too small for two people when Matej would show her photographs he had taken, drawings he had completed, and paintings he wanted to hang in a gallery one day. It was always kind of weirdly intimate – Tereza was the first person that got to see any completed project. He cherished her opinion more than anything at that point in time, even if she was clueless about art.

 

She wondered if Mila had that luxury now…

 

“I’ll see if I can make it. I’ve been swamped at work. No promises.”

 

Matej grinned, clapping his hands together. “Thank you, Rezie! I think you’re gonna really be impressed at what you see.”

 

“Order Number Fifty-Three!”

 

Tereza nodded, turning her back to him to quickly grab her food and make an escape. She could not be bothered to say a quick goodbye, out of fear her heart would leap out of her chest.

 

…there was _no way_ she still had feelings for him, right?

 

**x x x**

 

“Ugh, why didn’t you tell me Erzsébet and Roderich were also invited?”

 

“You and Erzsi need to put your stupid competition behind you,” Viktor muttered as he grabbed her coat. He passed it to the doorman, grumbling, “Viktor Ivanov and Tereza Lukáč, here for Mr. Matej Lukáč.” Tereza watched him check their names off and smiled at her. She returned it as she followed Viktor inside.

 

The gallery had a section roped off for people attending Matej’s showing. Erzsébet and her husband, Roderich, stood by talking with Gilbert, who returned to town for the wedding. Erzsébet caught sight of Viktor and Tereza and waved them over. Tereza wanted to ignore the light brown haired woman, but Viktor grabbed her arm, leading her toward the trio.

 

“Erzsi!” Viktor released his hold on Tereza as they reached the three. He opened his arms up wide, inviting Erzsi in for a hug.

 

“Viktor! It’s been awhile!” Erzsi embraced him tightly, before pulling back to examine him. “You look well!”

 

“What’s up, Reza, you bitch?” Gilbert asked, earning a swift elbow to the gut from Tereza. “Hey! I can’t be in the hospital for the wedding!”

 

“Gilly, nobody would miss you much,” Tereza deadpanned.

 

“I’m surprised you’re here, Tereza,” Roderich intervened, mostly to protect Gilbert from any future harm. Tereza made a face and Erzsébet nodded. “Considering… well, Matej is your ex _and_ his new girlfriend is also here.”

 

“He said he really wanted me to come,” Tereza grumbled.

 

“Have you seen that Mila though? She’s quite the catch,” Erzsi interjected, wiggling her eyebrow suggestively in Tereza’s direction.

 

“She’s a fucking babe!” Gilbert shouted.

 

“Should I get you a cocktail?” Viktor whispered, chuckling nervously as Tereza gave him side-eye.

 

“You can get me _three_ ,” she emphasized. “One for each one of these goons I have to interact with. And another two if I have to speak to Matej. Another four if I see and speak to Mila.”

 

“This is a gallery party, not the bar on your twenty-first…” Tereza glared as Viktor finished his sentence. “Fine,” he sighed in defeat. “Go on in with the Terrible Trio, I’ll grab some drinks.”

 

Tereza entered the section dedicated to Matej with Gilbert, Roderich, and Erzsébet. The four found themselves talking about the stress Basch and Fien were putting them through in light of the fact the wedding was next week. Tereza would occasionally glance around, searching for Viktor in the crowd of people as Gilbert made an inappropriate joke, only to be hit by Erzsébet and earning a scolding by Roderich.

Tereza sighed after about twenty minutes of this. “Guys, I’m going to find Viktor… he’s been missing for a bit.” Tereza broke away without the other three paying much attention to her as she made her way through the crowd. Occasionally, she’d stop and muse over some piece of work.

 

“Rezie!”

 

Tereza froze as she felt a hand grab her shoulder. After forcing herself to turn, she plastered a smile on her face. “Hi, Matej,” she greeted. “Just looking around. These newer pieces… they’re good…”

 

“Well, the best part of the exhibit hasn’t been revealed yet,” Matej explained. “There’s more pieces I’m unveiling soon.” He seemed nervous, almost bouncing up and down and shifting his weight from leg to the other. “Did you… come by yourself?”

 

“Oh, no. Viktor was suppose to be escorting me and all…” Tereza made a face and Matej left. “He went to get a drink and I’m afraid he just up and ditched me.”

 

“Uh, well, he’s still _here_ …” Matej rubbed the back of his neck. “I caught him and well, introduced him to Andrei Costin…”

 

“Who?”

 

“Andy Conklin, from the news.” Tereza rolled her eyes. She knew that Viktor had a crush on the dimwitted field reporter. Of course, he was one of Matej’s friends and just so happened to be at this event, where Tereza did not want to get abandoned. “They uh, went to view the gallery together…”

 

“I blame you.”

 

Matej chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I’ll accept the blame here,” he replied. Offering his arm, he nodded as Tereza glanced in confusion. “How about I make it up to you?”

 

“Meaning?” she asked, blushing as he gave her another dazzling, Matej smile.

 

“Terezie, why don’t I show you around? Explain what I’ve been working on with some of these before the big reveal of the latest collection of pieces?” Tereza shook her head as Matej frowned. “Why?”

 

“Uh, no offense, but you escorting your ex-wife around…”

 

“Of, come on, Terezie, I’m just trying to extend the olive branch here,” Matej countered. Her face began to heat up at the use of his old nicknames for her again. “I’m tired at being at each other’s throats. It’s not good for our mutual friends and it’s not good for us.”

 

Tereza frowned, because she hated how he had a point. He could be such a pain, but the man was smart. “Fine, but no funny business.” She took his arm and he whispered something under his breath. “I’m really impressed, Matej.”

 

“That I’m not a lazy bum?” he replied, rolling his eyes. Tereza turned red and lowered her gaze. “No, no, you were right back then. But I’ve grown up a bit. You’re still a control freak, Vik says…”

 

“Am _not_ ,” she huffed. Matej bumped his elbow into her and laughed loudly, drawing attention towards the pair. “So, this is what you’ve been doing the past few years?”

 

“Yeah, I really focused on painting,” Matej explained, stopping in front of two pictures. “I love photography, don’t get me wrong, but I feel with painting, I can capture more emotion, you know? I can transfer my emotions.”

 

“And is that what your latest collection is? Mostly paintings?”

 

Matej did not respond, but his cheeks were a shade of dark pink. Tereza pouted, poking his arm. “Matej, answer the question!”

 

“That collection is a mixture of photography pieces and paintings, but the photos aren’t the focus,” Matej admitted. “It’s all been works I’ve kept under wraps. Most of these pieces I’ve shown around, but I think the collection I’ll be revealing is very… _intimate_ … and the photos are very personal.”

 

“It’s not nudes, is it?” Tereza grumbled, rolling her eyes.

 

“It’s not. You’ve already told me nobody would be impressed, so I didn’t bother.”

 

Tereza finally let out a genuine laugh. Matej smiled, bright and dazzling as always, making her feel like she was back in high school, with the first time he made her laugh and the first time she fell in love with him.

 

She paused, reaching the end of the section before a closed door. “Well, I’m glad you took my advice,” Tereza muttered. “About the nudes, anyway.”

 

“Well, I always would listen to you, since you always kept it real with me.” Matej’s smile didn’t fade and Tereza felt her heart began to pound. Her stomach twisted up into knots as she licked her lips. She stepped a bit closer, and he mimicked her action.

 

“I can’t wait to see the new stuff,” she admitted. “Five years is a long time…” Matej’s smile finally faded.

 

“Listen, Rezie, about the collection…” he started.

 

“There you are, Matko!” a shrill voice cut him off, calling his name from a distance. The heavily accented voice made Tereza’s skin crawl as she peered over towards a tall woman, walking towards her and Matej.

 

Her dress was skin tight, sans the skirt that flared out when she was walking, revealing a slit that was a little too high for her taste. The woman had short, black hair, cut into a bobbed hairstyle, with lips as red as her dress. Tereza didn’t like her, not one bit, and she immediately recognized who this woman was, without having ever met her.

 

“Mila, hi,” Matej greeted. The woman leaned in, pressing her lips against his. Matej leaned back, obviously uncomfortable with the fact this twig was trying to lay on the affection right in front of her. Tereza rolled her eyes and Matej looked away. “Mila, I want you to meet Tereza. Tereza, this is Mila.”

 

“I’m his girlfriend.”

 

Tereza watched the woman stick out her bony hand. Rolling her eyes, Tereza just nodded at her, refusing to shake hands with the tall woman. “So I’ve heard,” she replied. “Matej and I were just talking about his latest collection of works…”

 

“Really? Why is that?” Mila asked, glaring at Tereza as if she had murdered her whole family. Matej winced, glancing between the two women as Tereza bit her lip.

 

“Tereza’s known me for pretty much our entire lives, so she’s always known about my love for art.” Matej’s expression was unreadable. “What have you been up to Mila?”

 

“Schmoozing with your artist friends,” Mila snorted. Tereza glared, noting how Mila seemed to think this event was a big joke. “Honestly, it’s so stuffy…”

 

“Well, I’ll catch you later, Matej,” Tereza interrupted, turning her attention back to Matej. Mila snorted and Tereza decided she wasn’t even worth the effort. “I look forward to the reveal.”

 

“Terezie, wait…”

 

Tereza nodded and waved, quickly turning on her heels and stumbling off. Mila laughed at her brief lost of balance, using a stage whisper to tell Matej, “You never mentioned she was so short… and plain… kind of _pudgy_.” Mila laughed again, causing Tereza to pick up speed and run into someone in a white dress shirt.

 

“Reza! There you are! Andrei, this is…” Viktor’s voice trailed off when he looked over at Tereza, who was struggling to hold back her tears. “Reza?”

 

“Oh, this is the infamous Tereza Lukáč?” Andrei reached into the pocket of his suit, removing a handkerchief and passing it toward Tereza. Viktor practically swooned and Tereza mumbled a quick appreciation before dabbing at her eyes, careful to preserve her makeup. “Well, she is everything I was told she was…” Andrei gave her a dazzling smile that reminded her why he was on television in the first place.

 

“And what was said about me?” Tereza forced out, sniffling a bit.

 

“That you were petite, doll like, and looked like Aphrodite herself,” Andrei replied, winking at her. “And I’ve been told you have a fiery personality.”

 

“Viktor said all of that? Really?” Tereza and Viktor exchanged confused looks as Andrei laughed.

 

“I’ve known Viktor for all of an hour, and I can’t imagine him saying that!” Andrei laughed. Tereza giggled too. Viktor turned bright red as Andrei shook his head. “No, no. My good old friend, Matej, told me that. He said I might be lucky enough to meet you.”

 

“Oh, did he now?” Tereza grumbled. Viktor tilted his head in confusion as Andrei nodded in confirmation. “How odd. Must’ve been drunk.”

 

“I don’t think so. He’s been talking non-stop about how you might be coming to this. I’m sure he’s over the moon that you’re even here, Tereza.” Andrei grabbed a cocktail from a waiter walking by, passing it to Tereza. “I swear, I almost slapped him because he wouldn’t shut up about it!”

 

“You should’ve, he probably needed it.”

 

The three laughed and Andrei and Viktor made another round with her. Andrei was obviously flirting with Viktor, who was awkwardly making passes back. Tereza felt like the awkward third wheel, who sometimes had to jump in to save Viktor from total embarrassment. Tereza had a few cocktails here and there, and slowly was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol.

 

“Attention, attention everyone!”

 

Tereza looked up from her third or fourth drink, sloshing it around as Matej’s voice lulled the room to a hush. “Hi, it’s really great to see so many of you all out here to support me!” Matej held up a glass of champagne with his right hand. Tereza ignored how Mila was attached to his left hip. “Before I reveal the _real_ reason you all came out here, I wanted to give you all a bit of a backstory.”

 

Inhaling sharply, Matej bit his lip. He was generally a charming person, who could easily talk to a crowd. This was new. “This collection took five years. Well, no, it took more than five years to conceptualize, but I started working on it five years ago.”

 

Matej’s smile seemed to fade, but plastered in its place was something fake and sorrowful. Tereza raised an eyebrow as Viktor and Andrei whispered next to her, obviously still trying to be as close as possible. Tereza rolled her eyes at Viktor’s attempts to flirt during a friend’s special moment.

 

“Anyway… because this collection has taken five years, I think the reason why will be self-explanatory,” Matej concluded. “It’s personal. This collection represents a part of me that I will always live with.”

 

He paused again. “And in addition to the original paintings, I included photographs. These are less artistic and more… insight. Personal. That is what I’m going for here.”

 

Opening the door behind him, Matej’s fake smile quivered a bit, a trait that he had when he was obviously nervous about something. “Without further delay, please, enjoy the exhibit. I don’t have a set title, because nothing fits the exhibit… and nothing will give the true inspiration justice in a title.”

 

Matej stepped aside as the large crowd filed in, with Mila giving him a quick peck before walking inside the room. Tereza rolled her eyes as she mouthed something to Viktor. He nodded and took Andrei’s hand, walking into the room. Following closely behind, Tereza paused short of the room and turned around. She saw Matej, watching her intently.

 

She cleared her throat. “Well, Mr. Hot-Shot-Artist, why aren’t you going in?”

 

“Why aren’t _you_?” he asked, his voice shaking. “I’m gonna step outside for some air quick, I’ll be back in soon. I don’t want to get swarmed with questions.” Matej turned and quickly walked away from her. Tereza bit her lip and turned around. Viktor stood in the doorway, looking a bit pale.

 

“Reza! Ah, I think… I need to give you a heads up…”

 

“Oh, so there _are_ nudes?” she joked, nudging him as she tried to push past him. Viktor shook his head. “Then what is the problem? Move it, Vik! I want to see! He’s been talking about this shit all week!”

 

Viktor sighed and moved out of Tereza’s way. She entered the room and immediately felt all eyes were on her, watching her every move and expression. “What’s gotten into everyone?” she asked, her eyes darting around the room.

 

Then, she saw it.

 

Straight ahead was a large canvas, with a petite woman painted, caramel blonde hair loose on her shoulders as she was surrounded by what appeared to be red fabric, holding a black rose. The rose was covering her lips, and her eyes were almost honey colored.

 

“Reza? Tereza?” Viktor whispered.

 

“Is that… _me_?”

 

“Reza, look at the other pieces…” Tereza’s eyes darted around the room as she grabbed Viktor’s hand, holding on for dear life as she made her way around. One painting bore resemblance to a playground from their childhood, with two kids sitting on top of the play set. A collage of photos, shaped into the letter “L” were snapshots that Matej had taken himself on their wedding day seven years earlier. Tereza’s face was bright red when another photo was displayed.

 

She remembered when Matej had taken it. It was right before the fighting happened, when she jokingly tried on one of his “ugly” painter shirts. The photo he took was focused on her in the mirror, dressed in his oversized shirt for her little body, himself distorted into the background as she became the main focus.

 

She turned on her heels, dragging Viktor to the door. “Reza, what’s wrong?”

 

“I can’t even look at the rest!” Tereza hissed quietly. “Where’s Matej?”

 

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Viktor whispered. “Are you okay?” Tereza nodded, but she felt so conflicted. She wasn’t supposed to want to run to him and kiss him and beg for a second chance. She was supposed to be mad. She hated how she felt right now, and she was mostly pissed because his intimate collection was all about her. She felt embarrassed, like everyone was expecting a reaction from her and wanted to know what she thought. She couldn’t figure out what his angle quite was.

 

She finally shook her head, snapping herself out from her thoughts. “I need to use the restroom!”

 

“Reza…”

 

Viktor released her hand as she stormed off, wiping her eyes as she tried to process exactly what she was feeling.

 

**x x x**

 

“Tereza?”

 

The door to the bathroom opened and Tereza realized she had been staring at her reflection for a good twenty minutes. Shaking her head, she rummaged through her purse, trying to find some kind of makeup to fix the mess that was on her face. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn around. “Erzsébet. Hi.”

 

Erzsi smiled and opened up her own purse, pulling out a package of baby wipes. “Just take it all off now, Reza. You’re already naturally pretty without makeup.” Tereza didn’t bother to correct her, taking the package as she scrubbed at her face. “How are you feeling? Vik’s worried.”

 

“I feel like I’m so confused. Why is there an exhibit dedicated to _me_?”

 

Erzsi gave her a look that Tereza was sure she had given her kids countless times before, when her oldest would ask an obvious question. Before the brunette could reply to her question the door flew open.

 

“I could be asking the same _fucking_ question!”

 

Erzsi stepped in front of Tereza as Mila approached the two women. “Oh, get loss, bitch,” Erzsi snapped. “You jealous?”

 

“Hardly,” Mila sneered. “I could have any man I wanted. I _know_ I’m a good looking woman. What I can’t fucking fathom is what he saw in _you_ …” Her eyes narrowed and she clicked her tongue. “You’re a controlling, OCD, fat, ugly little midget!”

 

“Mila, what the fuck?”

 

The door opened to the bathroom and Mila froze. Tereza’s eyes widened, but she looked away as soon as she saw Matej enter the women’s restroom. “Oh, like you expected me to be _okay_ with your little gallery exhibit?” Mila snarled. “Dedicated to this troll of an ex-wife?”

 

“Mila, get lost,” Matej demanded. “I’ve explained to you what she means to me over and over.”

 

“What can you _possibly_ see in her? You complain about her constantly!”

 

“I said get lost, Mila!” Matej repeated, his voice echoing in the bathroom. “Tereza is my muse. She always has been.” Mila scoffed.

 

“Whatever! Like I wanted to be with a greasy little nobody like you!”

 

Storming off, Erzsi stuck out her tongue – very mature for a woman who was thirty – and turned back to Tereza. Tereza shook her head and grabbed her purse from the counter. “I need to go.”

 

“Terezie, wait, I want to speak to you…” Matej was cut off by Erzsi’s hand. Tereza pushed past him, unable to look at him.

 

She just couldn’t process.

 

**x x x**

 

“So…”

 

“So… _what_?”

 

“Uh, well Erzsi… uh, she told me. What happened… at the gallery thing…”

 

Tereza didn’t look away from her laptop, clicking away at her keyboard aggressively as Bennie sat down across from her. Normally, he was boisterous and playful, but he seemed on edge, trying to gauge her reaction to his words.

 

“Cool. Glad to know I’m the town’s newest gossip topic.”

 

“I heard he broke up with Mila.” Tereza rolled her eyes and kept on typing. She realized she had typed the same sentence three times and deleted it, trying to regain her train of thought. “Have you spoken to him?”

 

“No,” she deadpanned. “He made a fool out of me.”

 

“I wouldn’t say that.” Bennie fiddled with a pen, muttering, “I think he made a fool out of himself. He said it was a personal collection. That he was putting himself out there.”

 

“And what did I have to do with it?”

 

“He so desperately wanted you to see it,” Bennie explained. “He obviously is trying to tell you something.”

 

Tereza blinked, biting her lip as she finally stopped typing. Matej had spent five years painting pictures of her, about her, making collages, editing old wedding photos of them… he had spent five years to put together this show. He called her his muse. He wanted her to see it.

 

“Do you think… he wants me back?”

 

“You two can’t stay the fuck away from each other,” Bennie grumbled. “All you two talk about is either your jobs or each other.”

 

Tereza nodded. She hated how right Bennie was.

 

“I’m taking off early. Finish the email to Joaquim for me, please, Bennie.”

 

“Yes ma’am!” Bennie saluted, watching her shove everything into her large bag and stand up, rushing out of her office.

 

**x x x**

 

Tereza opened the door to her apartment with such force and was in the kitchen before Viktor could react or try and force her out. Matej was seated at the table, eyes wide in shock. “You’re supposed to be at work, Reza!” Viktor whined.

 

“I had a gut feeling Matej was here.” She dropped her bag and placed her hands on the table. “I want an explanation.”

 

“Well, Viktor invited me over to chat…”

 

“I mean about your _collection_ , Lukáč.” Tereza balled her hands into little fists as Matej gulped. Viktor’s eyes were as wide as saucers. Matej looked past Tereza, nodding towards Viktor to leave the kitchen as he stood up. Viktor scrambled out of the room, presumably to his own bedroom.

 

“Rezie…”

 

“Don’t start that,” Tereza commanded. “I won’t let you call me Reza anymore. You can’t call me Terezie and Rezie… and then go and toy with my emotions like that. What’s your fucking deal?”

 

“Whatever.” Matej sighed. “I spent the last five years pouring my heart into that collection. At first, it was supposed to be therapeutic. I was supposed to get over you and move the fuck on.”

 

“How do you think I feel? Seeing that?” Tereza shouted.

 

“Let me finish!” Matej snapped. “Every time I saw you, I worked on a new piece. That wasn’t even half of what I’ve been working on in five years, Rezie. It wasn’t therapeutic anymore. It was obsessive.”

 

Tereza said nothing as he approached her, keeping a safe distance as he inhaled sharply. “The truth is, I only took this wedding gig because you’d be there. I generally don’t photograph for weddings anymore. Because I think about ours and I realize I still am in love with you. You’ve been my day one. You’ve been my first and only love.”

 

Tereza’s lip quivered. “Matej…”

 

“Even when we were little and you would always pick on me and beat me at everything. Even when in high school you’d get mad because of how messy I made your locker with my snacks I stored in there, because Gil kept eating the ones in my locker. Even in college, when you got drunk and threw up on me after I proposed to you on the dance floor at the bar. Even when we fought. Even when I caught you with Viktor.”

 

Matej smiled, although it was hollow. “Even when every time after our divorce, you insulted me and got mad at me and told me you were glad we were separated.”

 

“Matej, hold on…” Tereza was shushed. She pouted.

 

“And I’m not asking for you to love me back. I’m not asking for a second chance. I don’t care if you even believe me or not, but I still am in love with you, Tereza Sofie Lukáč, formerly Tereza Sofie Veselá. You are my Terezie. And you always will be.”

 

Tereza stared back at him, mouth hanging open. She was in complete and utter disbelief at what she had just heard. “Matej, I… I didn’t know.”

 

“Now you do…” Matej sighed, looking at the floor. “Listen, if this is too much, my intern can cover the wedding. I don’t have to be there. I know, I just threw a lot at you.”

 

“No!” Tereza shouted, taken aback by her own volume. “Don’t. Don’t cancel. First, Erzsi and Elise will blame _me_ , and I need some kind of self-preservation here.” Matej rolled his eyes. “And second… do you mean everything you just said?”

 

“Rezie, I would never have signed the divorce papers if you hadn’t been so adamant on moving on…” Matej was bright red.

 

“Matej Lukáč, would you like to escort me to the wedding of Fien Van Dijk and Basch Zwingli this weekend?”

 

Tereza found the words leaving her mouth before she could even think about what she was saying. Matej’s natural, easy-going smile returned and he crossed his arms as Tereza now turned bright red. “I believe I have to photograph an event. What will your friends say if your ex is escorting you to the wedding as your date?”

 

“It’s not a _date_!” Tereza protested. “It’s a test run… to see… if we can make it work this time. I don’t want to get any hopes up.”

 

“Are you trying to admit you love me too, Rezie?”

 

“Shut up.” Tereza rolled her eyes.

 

**x x x**

“I feel so bad for Matej’s intern, getting stuck with all the guys…”

 

“The only real problem is Gilbert.”

 

The girls giggled and gossiped around Tereza, who was seated in a chair as the hairstylist toyed with her messy hair. She was already agitated by the crazy makeup that she had to endure, and only Fien would make everything this complicated for her wedding.

 

The door opened and Matej stood before the bridesmaids, his dress shirt untucked and the first few buttons undone. “Sorry! Had to show Matthew the ropes. I think he’s about to have a heart attack!”

 

“It’s okay, Fien is still ugly,” Mei, an international student the Van Dijks were hosting, called out from the makeup chair, giggling as Fien made a face.

 

“When my hair and makeup are done, I’ll be the most beautiful bride you’ve ever seen, Mei Xiao!” Fien shouted. Tereza rolled her eyes as she heard the camera shuttering nearby. She looked up to see Matej aiming it right at her.

 

“Well, the second most…” He winked at her and she turned bright red. Elise raised an eyebrow as Matej turned to Fien. “Fifi, are we doing the pictures before the ceremony still?”

 

“Yes! It’ll be the best time! My makeup won’t be a runny mess!” Fien exclaimed, examining her hair in the makeup as she walked over to her garment bag. “Oh, this is so exciting! I’m getting married!”

 

Matej snapped a few getting ready pictures before being unceremoniously tossed from the room to allow the girls to get changed into their dresses. Fien and Elise had already left to do bride, groom, and family pictures, leaving Tereza to deal with maid-of-honor Erzsi and the other two bridesmaids, who were giggling messes. About thirty minutes later, they joined up with the rest of the wedding party and Matej began to instruct them on how to stand and place themselves for pictures.

 

Almost an hour later, they finished, with time to spare before the actual ceremony. Matej stepped forward, smiling at Tereza as she excused herself from a conversation with bridesmaid Camille.

 

“Matej,” she greeted, trying to hide the small smile.

 

“Magenta is not your color, babe.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Sorry I’ve been neglecting you.”

 

“We’re both busy today, but I have Matthew photographing most of the reception, since I did most of the wedding pictures.” Matej smiled, shifting uncomfortably. “You were the most beautiful bride ever.”

 

“I love you.”

 

Tereza covered her mouth as Matej chuckled, trying not to laugh too loud. “Tereza, Jesus. I thought this was a test run? Coming on really strong.”

 

“Says Mr. I’m In Love With You Forever.”

 

Matej took her hands and gripped them tightly. “Tereza Lukáč, let it be known, I’ll be your husband again. A year from now, we will be married again.”

 

“Is that a proposal?” Tereza joked.

 

“Well, I do still have our wedding bands in the house somewhere…” Matej shrugged his shoulders. “What do you say, Reza? Wanna try for Hashtag-In-Love-With-Lukáč-Version-Two?”

 

“Only,” Tereza began, chuckling quietly. “Only if we change the hashtag.”

 

Leaning in to press a chaste kiss onto her lips, Matej muttered, “That can be arranged.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of really glad I got to write these two. I project a lot of my personal shit onto them. Yikes.


End file.
